The model of the Tree of Life comes from the philosophy of the Jewish Kabbalah – a system that seeks to understand and explain life. Kabbalah is a Hebrew word that means “received” and the philosophy is an oral tradition meaning that originally it was passed by word of mouth from generation to generation. The diagram of the Tree of Life was most likely drawn in the dust of the ground as the main tool of instruction and memory for thousands of years. Being an oral tradition the telling could change and shift, grow and develop with the minds and view of the people. It was not until the middle ages and maybe later that documents began appearing that attempted to set the myth in a fixed form. The history of Kabbalah and the main documents of the belief system then became a tale that shifted and twisted from one mind’s perspective to the next. It has become a revelation of ongoing translation and interpretation. The structure of the Tree of Life Spiritual Walk is shown in the image below:

This image displays the main components of the Tree of Life, namely:

The Source

The Lightning Flash

3 Pillars (vertical columns)

10 Sephiroth (spheres)

22 Paths (connecting lines)

4 Worlds (horizontal strata)

The names of things in the Tree of Life – the Sephiroth, Paths, Worlds and Pillars – are translations from the Hebrew to the modern day English and the meanings can be obscure and difficult. In its own way though this is helpful because it forces the student to search and inquire for the true meaning. Researching the meaning of the Hebrew words often leads you to various interpretations and it is obvious that much is lost in translation from the earthy Hebrew language.

In my mind I see the Tree of Life spiralling and cycling round like some digital models of the DNA molecule’s twin spirals that can be found on the internet. It is a living model and shimmers and turns in a way similar to the life that it is attempting to interpret. From one perspective it looks like this and from another it looks like something else and it all comes down perhaps to whose mind is looking at it. The student of Kabbalah and the Tree of Life is embarked upon a lifelong study.

Let’s look at each of the elements of the Tree individually:

The SourceThe Source is generally represented by 3 curved lines above the Tree called the Ain Soph Aur which translates as the Absolute Limitless Light. The Ain Soph Aur is also called Nothingness. A principle in Kabbalah is that everything always starts from nothing.

The Absolute Limitless Light exists as an expanded, limitless source of light. To create this world, into which we incarnate, as a separate distinct entity the Absolute Limitless Light had to undergo contraction to enable a void to be formed.

The light energy then expanded again and established itself within the void. This activity sets up a pattern of equilibrium, expansion, contraction and resolution.

The Lightning FlashOnce established within the void the light energy expanded, contracted and balanced repetitively, forming the pattern of the Lightning Flash.

At each point of expansion to the right and then contraction to the left and then balance once again, where it returned to the centre (after expansion & contraction), the Lightning Flash formed a sequence of nodes. These nodes are the 10 Sephiroth and the connecting lines of the Lightning Flash are the 22 paths.

3 PillarsIn the movement of the Lightning Flash 3 vertical columns were created as it moved from the centre to the right and then across to the left and then back to the centre.

The central or middle column is called the Pillar of Mildness. It is also referred to as the Pillar of Consciousness and represents balance, neutrality and equilibrium.

The pillar to the left is called the Pillar of Force and is also called the Pillar of Mercy. It represents expansion and is considered masculine.

The pillar to the right is called the Pillar of Form and is also called the Pillar of Severity and it represents contraction and is considered feminine.

10 SephirothAs explained above the Sephiroth formed in a sequential manner following the path of the Lightning Flash. The Sephiroth are displayed as circles or spheres on the Tree of Life.

The Book of Formation, known as the Sepher Yetzirah, is the document that describes the process and clearly states that there are "Ten Sephiroth of nothingness, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven". These 10 Sephiroth relate to the decimal numbering system and the 10 digits from which all of our numbers are created.

The English translations of the Hebrew Names of the Sephiroth are as follows:

22 PathsOnce again referring to the Book of Formation, it is said that the Sephiroth “run and return like a whirlwind.” This is very important because in the diagram at right as you count the number of connecting paths there are only 11 paths.

Now, again it is very important here, to be aware that in the numbering of the paths the first path is numbered 0, so although there are 11 paths, the last one shown here is path 10.

Essentially, what happens here is that the paths turn back and run back to the source on parallel, or what I call Reciprocal, paths. So there is one set of paths running down and another set of paths running up.

In essence Path 10, the Wheel of Life, is a circular path. The same path leaves and returns to Malkuth. This will be explained further later on. This also means that on the return upward paths (see diagram at left), the final path at the top (Path 20) is the 21st Path. The question is “Where is the 22nd Path?” The 22nd Path is numbered 21 (remember, because the 1st Path is numbered 0). This will be further explained shortly, but the 22nd Path is known as the World and represents everything that has been created.

The Paths and their names are identified by combining what we know from the Kabbalah with what we know about the Tarot Major Arcana. The complete Tarot deck of cards consists of 78 cards. 56 of these cards are known as the Minor Arcana and 22 of them are called the Major Arcana. It is interesting that the 22 paths of the Tree of Life are associated with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet and here in the Tarot we have a set of 22 cards. The correlation is quite simple and the relationship works well. The table to the right provides the Path Numbers and the Path Names.

To summartise what we have, the diagram at right shows the Outward Paths and the Inward Paths. The entire diagram is called "Path 22 - The World".

Bringing the paths together you can start to see the shape of the Tree of Life Spiritual Walk on the ground. The black lines are the paths as they move outward from the Source and the purple lines are the reciprocal paths moving inward, returning to the Source.

Four WorldsFrom the Source, where the soul resides in-between incarnations as light energy, the energy of life emanates and on the journey along the outward paths and the Sephiroth, it travels through 4 worlds, each of which becomes more dense as the energy descends. These 4 worlds are Emanation, Creation, Formation and Manifestation.

Emanation relates to the world of Spirit and also may be described as Spirituality, Intuition, Passion and Inspiration.

Creation relates to the world of the Intellectual Mind and the mental processes of thinking and imagination.

Formation relates to the world of the Emotions, emotional processes and feelings, and social relationships.

Manifestation relates to the world of Physical Sensation, the material world, physical body and actions.

These horizontal layers of the Worlds are often referred to as “Planes of Existence”. People generally have a closer relationship with one or more of these planes and may find in life that they operate or communicate more easily on one plane more so than another.

Note that at the bottom I add an extra layer to the diagram - “Earth of Malkuth”. The descent of the 11th path - the Wheel of Fortune X (10) - descends like a vortex - turning like a whirlpool - this is the Wheel of Life and is held within Malkuth. So it is not an extra world or an extra layer, it drills down into the Manifest layer. This is the actual physical activity in and on the Earth.

The return of the Soul to the Source requires the reverse journey from Earth back along the inward paths, progressively through each of the 10 Sephiroth and then each of the 4 Worlds, gradually relinquishing the hold that Form has acquired over Force. Letting go of the physical shackles of life, it is about finding balance and harmony, recommunicating with the Source and equalising the energies that make us human.

The Worlds are shown below on the Tree of Life Spiritual Walk diagram:

On the Outward journey the world of Spirit sees the soul move from the Source to the Crown sphere. At this time the soul has incarnated and taken up residence within the Crown chakra of the physical body. The Crown is now the gateway from the World of Spirit to the World of Creation.

The World of Creation sees the development of the mind and the mental processes. Within this world are the states of being known as Wisdom and Understanding. These two states exist as dual opposites and a balance is necessary to ensure a functional mental attitude. The path from Understanding to Beauty sees the development of a creative facility which is the outcome of the functioning mind-set. Beauty sees the development of conscious awareness. The Crown is Spiritual Consciousness and now we have a limitation on this restricting consciousness to the highest human consciousness. Beauty is the gateway between the World of Creation and the World of Formation.

The World of Formation sees the development of the emotions. Within this world are the states of being known as Mercy and Severity. Again these two states exist as dual opposites and a balance is necessary to ensure a functional emotional attitude. After Severity the next path to Foundation deals with emotional relationships and choices. Foundation sees the development of the Ego and what is referred to as the Lower Consciousness. This means the imposition of a further restriction upon consciousness. Foundation is the gateway between the World of Formation and the World of Manifestation.

The World of Manifestation sees the development of the effect of reasoning and emotions upon the physical world. This manifests in our actions. Actions may be seen as either instinctive or planned. Again we have two states that exist as dual opposites and balance is necessary to ensure a functional physical existence. The Hebrew names of the two states of being in this world, Hod and Netzach, translate as Glory (Reverberation) and Victory (Power) respectively. These are very good examples of the obscure meanings derived from the translations from Hebrew to English. My best approximation of the meaning and intent of these names - Instinctive Action & Planned Action - is based upon the placement of these states upon the Tree structure, the world they are in and the pillar they are on. Include with this an idea of the paths that move between the states and where those paths are coming from and to and you can get an idea in your mind that helps to explain the true meaning.

The difference between the pillars of Force and Form suggest actions of opposing energy. Reverberation to me suggests an echo – a second instance of something rather than the first response. Victory and power is gained in instinctive action but glory is found in the ego and form of human existence.

The path from Glory (Planned Action) to Kingdom combines the energy of the human physical actions and descends to earth. As you may now appreciate the energy has completed the descent from spirit to mind to emotions to physical manifestation. The energy is encased in form and struggles to communicate and engage in relationship with the original Source. The light of the Hermit is very dim compared with the light of the Sun and the Absolute Limitless Light of the Source. The imagery of the Hermit conveys the archetypal concept of Hermits and their descent into a cave and retreat from life.

The return of the Soul to the Source requires the Hermit to emerge from the cave of mankind and become open once more to the light and information of the Source. The return is gradual and onerous as the Soul, piece by piece and path by path, reclaims the life force that has been insidiously but necessarily encased in form. First, back through the World of Manifest Actions along the paths of Strength, the Hanged Man and Death. Death is the release from physical boundaries. Then we re-enter the World of Formation and break down the emotional bondage that has been formed. The paths of Temperance, the Devil and the Lightning Struck Tower challenge and remove old beliefs, behaviours and relationships. Now we once again approach the World of Creation and restructure our thinking in light of the changes that have occurred. The next three paths through the World of Creation are the Star, the Moon and the Sun. We have now arrived again at Kether the crown and commence the final ascent in the Spiritual World of Emanation and the ascent of the Soul to the Source.

Traditional Tree vs Rectified Tree

Through my study of the Tree of Life I have developed what I call a “Rectified” Tree of Life. The reason for this “rectified” model is that the traditional model is based upon a less than perfect or broken tree. In the image of the Traditional Tree there is a circle named Daath, sitting on the central pillar, beneath the first Sephira (named Kether). Daath is not one of the Sephiroth. In Kabbalah Daath is referred to as a non-Sephiroth. Daath appeared after the event known as “the Fall”. Compare the two models:

In the Traditional model, where Daath appears, there is an Abyss that formed at the time of the fall. Daath actually sits in this Abyss. According to Kabbalists this Abyss separates man from God – the top of the Tree from the bottom of the Tree. The main difference to notice is the 3 lower Sephiroth on the Middle Pillar – Tiphareth, Yesod and Malkuth. Unlike my Tree, these Sephiroth have been forced downwards. The connecting paths to these Sephiroth are also elongated downwards. If you move these 3 Sephiroth back up to their original positions then the structure of the Sephiroth matches the “rectified” Tree. In my research I have found references to the original Tree being formed in this way and also references that claim that Daath always existed but was covered by the Sephira of Tiphareth and was only revealed when the fall occurred.

In addition to the Sephiroth on the Middle Pillar moving back up, the boundaries of the Worlds also move back up to their correct position when you “rectify” the Tree. The World of Atziluth translates as Emanation and relates to the World of Spirit which also corresponds to the element of Fire. Spirit, or the soul, emanates from the Source (the Ain Soph Aur or Absolute Limitless Light) and moves into the Sephira Kether. Kether is the Crown and is the place of Spiritual Consciousness and enlightenment. In the rectified Tree Kether sits at the boundary and is the gateway between the World of Emanation (Spirit) and the World of Creation (Mind). This makes more sense than the traditional Tree which has the boundary of the two worlds sitting beneath the Sephiroth of Chokmah (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding). Wisdom and Understanding both relate to the reasoning and mental processes and are rightly balanced within the World of Creation.

The soul moves from The World of Emanation (Spirit) through Kether into the World of Creation (Mind) and commences the development of the mind through Chokmah and Binah and then centres again on the Middle Pillar in Tiphareth (Beauty). Tiphareth is the place of the Higher human consciousness. With the development of the mental processes the soul has moved from Spirit Consciousness to the highest human Consciousness (self-awareness). With the mind being rightly balanced then the creative energy flows into Tiphareth and it can be perhaps be comprehended why the name of this Sephira Tiphareth means Beauty - a balanced, creative mind is a beautiful mind that is intended for the creation of beauty.

In my rectified Tree this Sephira sits at the boundary and is the gateway between the two worlds of Creation and Formation. The Traditional Tree has the World of Creation including the two Sephiroth of Chesed (mercy) and Geburah (Severity) and the lower boundary to the World of Manifestation sitting below the fallen Tiphareth. This does not make any sense as both Mercy and Severity represent emotional functions and belong to the World of Formation.

Below Chesed and Geburah the energy moves to Yesod known as Foundation and the place of the Lower Consciousness and the Ego. The Emotional energy now passes through the gateway of Yesod from the World of Formation to the World of Manifestation. As we progress through the worlds the consciousness becomes denser, moving from spirit to higher (self) consciousness to lower (ego) consciousness and eventually to physical consciousness.

A similar issue exists with the two Sephiroth of Hod (Glory) and Netzach (Victory). The Traditional Tree has these Sephiroth sitting in the World of Formation – emotions and water. These two Sephiroth both have to do with human actions – a balance between instinctive action and planned action – and rightly belong in the World of Manifestation or physical action. The correction to the Traditional Tree through my process of rectification sees these Sephiroth, their functions and World processes correctly aligned.

Again with the last Sephiroth Malkuth (Kingdom) and the World of Manifestation, the Traditional Tree has the boundary of the two worlds of Formation and Manifestation sitting just above Malkuth so that Malkuth exists alone in the material world. In the rectified Tree the boundary of the World of Manifest action sits on Malkuth and so Malkuth provides a function similar to Kether and is the gateway between this world and the actual physical existence.

Notice on the Traditional Tree that the connecting paths between the Sephiroth do not follow the order of the Lightning Flash. In fact the paths are all over the place and do not follow on one from the other to the next and so on. In the rectified Tree the paths follow the order of the Lightning Flash down and then return back up. Look at the image of the traditional Tree of Life in the diagram below and try to follow the pattern of the paths (numbered 11 to 32). It is impossible to create a walk that follows a sequential order of paths based upon this model.

Compare this with the orderly, balanced, rectified Tree of Life at right; the paths follow a logical progression and the Sephiroth are balanced. Everything within the model has a balancing energy in the form of a dual opposite.

The Rectified Tree readily provides recognisable relationships between the paths that are not found in the Traditional Tree. I define these basic relationships as Reciprocal Paths and Complementary Paths. There is another relationship that I call the Reflexive Path but this is formed through a process of Numerology called Fadic Reduction or Fadic Addition. Here I want to talk about the first two relationships.

This structure means that each path has a dual opposite path that I call a Reciprocal Path. Between each Sephira there are two paths running in opposed directions. For instance between the Source and Kether (Crown) the path of the Fool (0) runs down and the path of Judgement (20) runs up. For this example it is particularly interesting as the Fool is the Soul (the traveller on the journey) incarnating into life and Judgement is the event that occurs when the Soul returns from life to the Source. There are some very interesting relationships identified through the Reciprocal Paths of the Rectified Tree. The following table shows the Reciprocal Paths:

The other clearly recognisable path relationship on the Rectified Tree is what I call the Complementary Paths. Each path going down has a complementary path running back up. The Complementary Paths are shown in the following table:The only paths to have the same Reciprocal Paths and Complementary Paths are the Hierophant (5) and the Devil (15) subsequently forming a very interesting relationship.The path not mentioned here is the 22nd Path of the World (21). It offsets and balances with the Source - the relationship of Nothingness with Everythingness.

The third relationship between the paths is derived through reducing the double digit path numbers by adding the digits together to achieve a number between 1 and 9; for instance the Hanged Man 12 is reduced by adding 1 + 2 to give 3. This indicates a relationship between the Hanged Man 12 and the Empress 3. I call this a Reflexive Association because it is not a direct relationship such as 12 and 2. The Reflexive Paths are shown in the table at right:

PatternsThe path and Sephiroth structures on the Rectified Tree form interesting patterns. Again these are not to be found in the Traditional Tree. Essentially there are two types of patterns:

The Emanation/Involution of spirit into matter pattern; and

The Equilibrium, Expansion, Contraction and resolution to Equilibrium pattern.

The first type of pattern can be seen between the Source and Kether (Crown) and also Earth and Malkuth (Kingdom).

Although slightly different in the symbols that I have used for the Source and Earth, the dual path structure is the same. They both show spirit moving into denser matter and then returning from that dense matter to spirit.

I see a relationship here with the generic male and female symbols shown here:

The Male symbol represents the expansion of energy into the void from the Source and the Female symbol represents the devolution of energy into the 4 quadrants of Malkuth.

The second type of pattern that repeats in the Rectified Tree is found in the other Worlds of Creation, Formation and Manifestation.

From the Middle Pillar of Equilibrium the energy expands to the Pillar of Force and is then balanced by contraction on the Pillar of Form. Finally the energy returns to equilibrium of the Middle Pillar.

This pattern repeats in each of the Worlds of Creation, Formation and Manifestation. In each World you have a balanced place of Consciousness on the Middle Pillar; this is the gateway into this World from the previous World. Then there are two dual opposite energies that make up a Sephira on each of the side pillars of Force and Form. The energy then centres back onto the Middle Pillar and again this Sephira performs the role of a gateway to the next World.

Moving down through the Worlds on Middle Pillar, the points of Consciousness shift progressively from spirit consciousness; to higher (human) consciousness; to lower (ego) consciousness and finally the densest form of matter in the physical world of action. Kether (Crown) is Spirit Consciousness. Tiphareth (Beauty) is Higher (human) Consciousness. Yesod (Foundation) is Lower (Ego) Consciousness. Malkuth (Kingdom) is Physical (Body) Consciousness.

In the World of Creation the two balanced Sephiroth are Chokmah (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding). They sit midway between Kether (Crown) and Tiphareth (Beauty) which are also Spirit Consciousness and Higher (Human) Consciousness.

The World of Creation deals with the development of the mental processes and the shift of consciousness from Spirit Consciousness to Higher (Human) Consciousness (the Intellect).

The downward paths in this World – the Magician 1, the High Priestess 2 and the Empress 3 – show the development of the mind, the mental processes and the consciousness from spirit to human consciousness. Likewise the upward paths in this World – the Star 17, the Moon 18 and the Sun 19 – show the development of these same qualities returning from human consciousness to spirit.

The next World beneath this is the World of Formation and the two balanced Sephiroth in this World are Chesed (Mercy) and Geburah (Severity). They sit midway between Higher (Human) Consciousness and the Lower (Ego) Consciousness. The World of Formation is the World of emotional development.

The downward paths in this World – the Emperor 4, the Hierophant 5 and the Lovers 6 – teach about moving from the mental to emotional cognizance – the heart and not the head. The upward paths – Temperance 14, the Devil 15 and the Lightning Struck Tower 16 – show the extremes that the heart can take you to and the way to return to the truth – breaking down the power of the ego on the return to the Higher Consciousness and enlightenment.

Beneath Formation is the World of Manifestation. Moving down the Tree we have balanced the Mind and then the Emotions and now we arrive at the physical body and contemplate our actions. The two balancing Sephiroth in this World are Netzach (Power & Victory) and Hod (Glory & Reverberation). These two show the extremes of physical actions from Instinctive to Planned. They sit midway between Yesod (Foundation) - the Lower (Ego) Consciousness and the Physical Body of Malkuth (Kingdom).

The downward paths in this World – Chariot 7, Justice 8 and the Hermit 9 – show the manifestation of the human will and the danger of rigidity in thinking and action. The upward paths – Strength 11, the Hanged Man 12 and Death 13 – show the struggle to liberate and release the soul from the physical prison that it has created.

Putting this altogether, of course, gives us the Spiritual Walk that has been established in the natural setting of Earth & Soul.